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2024-12-24 18:00:59Speeding down the alley, she ran out onto the abandoned street and dashed across it, to the next alley. Her feet hurt, her legs ached with faticgue and her stomach churned with the idea of being caught. She'd heard of what they did to kids like her, of what they pulled, and broke and sliced and pricked. Serenity didn't want to become a science experiment.
Hide.
That’s all she needed to do. Find somewhere to lay low, until she could change her appearance. She’d cut and dye her blonde hair and take out her nose ring, hell, she’d even start wearing dresses and learn to do make-up… all to not look like Serenity Monaghan anymore.
Through another alley and out onto another street, Serenity ducked to the left, racing past the darkened shops. They weren’t open yet, and by the light tinge to the sky, it was just going four am. This would be a whole lot easier if there were people around. She’d be able to call out for help, someone surely would be able to help…
“Serenity…” The voice seethed from behind.
Head turning, the sight of the ambling Joe, running behind her in his pajamas, sent Serenity’s heart racing again. “Fuck!”
Running bare footed across concrete, her legs ached even more with pain, but she knew she would have wasted time, trying top pull on shoes, especially with how quickly Joe had found her.
“Serenity…”
Ducking to her right, Serenity stumbled out onto the road and across it, to another alley and down it. She just had to make it to the other end. Surely Joe’s fat body couldn’t keep up for long. He’d get tired and then she’d be able to get away. “Serenity…”
Her head turned for a moment. just a second to look...
Joe was still behind her, knocking trash cans to the side, sending rats and cats scrambling.
She cried out as her knee connected with a trash can, sending her barreling over it, rolling, coming to a stop on her back. Her knee ached and she groaned, laying there for a second or two, before she scrambled to her hands and knees, gaze shifting back down the alley.
Joe slowed his run, almost stopping in front of her and grinned again. “Serenity, we only want what’s best for you.”
“Get away from me!” Serenity picked up the first thing which her hand secured and hurtled the tray of degraded fast food at Joe. It struck him in the chest, moldy burger and fries dropping to the ground, but it didn’t stop his slow advance.
“Only the best, Serenity.”
Scrambling away, keeping Joe in her sight, her back connected with a brick wall and she looked up. Sheer brick. Glancing right to left, her stomach plummeted to her feet, she’d sent herself down a dead end. “Fuck!”
Looking back down, she scanned the alley, the trash around her, for something she could use as a weapon. If she could give herself a bit of time to get away…
“We’ve been searching for you, Serenity.”
There.
The plastic chopstick glinted wetly with grime and old food, but it didn’t stop her from reaching for it. Brandishing it in front of her, she screamed at Joe, “Back off, or I’ll stab you in the fucking eye!”
Joe chuckled, the sound not his own, “No, you won’t, because you’re curious. Curious to what we can offer you. A new life. A perfect life…”
Serenity gulped—then turned the chopstick against her skin, carving two words.
Help me.
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Joe screamed.A high pitch squeal which bit into Serenity’s bones and made her ears ache. The chopstick dropped to the ground; the words still bright on her skin. She lifted her hands, shielding her face as Joe screamed again and threw himself at her.The inevitable impact of a larger body hitting hers didn’t materialize and Serenity lowered her arms to the scene in front of her.Bulk.The figure between her and Joe was huge. Broad shouldered, encased in tight denim jeans and leather jacket; a large hunting knife hung in their hand.“Iraziel. I thought, I sent your sorry ass back upstairs.”“Noah. So nice of you to crawl up from the basement.” Iraziel drawled, through Joe’s fat lips. “Step away from the Skin Writer.”The knife spun in Noah’s hand and his head shook, blond hair flashing in the dull lighting. “Not going to happen, featherbrain. We both know, Skin Writer’s, belong to the Horde.”Iraziel hissed, his stance lowering, and Serenity’s gaze snapped to Noah, as he mirrored it.
Last Updated : 2024-12-24Claimed by the Horde Six
“You’re young. For a Skin Writer.”Serenity didn’t lift her head. Kneeling on the floorboards, her wrists flexed in the cuffs Noah had placed on her. By the time they’d returned to his apartment, she’d overcome her influx of power and had practically fought him to put her down. He’d slapped the cuffs on her quickly, to stop her scratching out at him.She was sure, in the scuffle, she’d heard the words bitch and feral more than once.“Come on, Serenity. I’m not going to hurt you.”“Then why cuff me?” she asked, finally lifting her head. “Hmm?”Noah lifted himself from the chair and walked to the window. It was huge and the view of the city beyond; breathtaking. But it did nothing to calm her nerves. She’d just watched someone—she’d considered a friend—have his own neck broken. Then she’d been taken to a strange place and put in handcuffs.She wasn’t exactly confident in Noah’s words.“That’s for my own protection, because I know what you can do.”“Yeah? And what’s that?”He turned back
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Noah was so nonchalant with the statement, as he lifted the water and sipped at it that all Serenity could do was stare. Noah rolled his eyes. “For fuck’s sake.”Lifting himself, he walked to the shelf at the side of the room and grabbed a huge book, bringing it back to her. Sitting on the chair, he flicked through the book and stopped at a page, turning it around to her.Serenity’s gaze moved from the man’s face to the book in his hand and looked at the picture. On the yellowed pages, was a woman. Her skin was covered in ancient writing, and behind her, was an army.Scales and horns and leathery wings.“A Skin Writer is a woman of old blood, who can command the Horde.” He flicked through to the next page. This image, the woman had a figure on each side of her. Both tall. One pale-haired, one dark. They both sported leathery wings and bulging muscles, but angelic faces. They stood one step behind her, swords drawn
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Noah had taken the cuffs off her, placed her in a room, made sure there was nothing she could use to write on her skin, then he had left her alone in the dark.Sitting on the side of the bed, while Noah moved around freely in the room outside, Serenity stared at the floor and tried to comprehend what was happening to her.Demons. Angels. Armies of Heaven. Skin Writers.She’d been too shocked to see the huge bat-like wings which unfurled from Noah’s skin, to ask too many more questions. What would she ask anyway? If she was drugged? Noah had already been adamant, she wasn’t. There was nothing to do now, only unpack the information Noah had divulged and hope for more answers.Lifting her arm, she stared at the spot she’d written on her skin. The words had long since left her flesh and the fatigue had ebbed. Her fingers traced along her arm softly. She’d never thought much of her gift. It was just something she could do
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“Great.” She sank back against the sofa and watched the demon eat. While she wanted more answers, they weren’t quite the right ones. “How many Skin Writers are there?”His chopsticks hovered in mid-air, and he slowly looked at her. “Not enough… and you’re the only one not controlled.”“Hence why I’m feral?”He shook his head, pointing his chopsticks at her. “No, I called you that, because you fight like an rabid animal. You need to learn combat. How to fight against an angel and win.”“And what about against a demon?”“Demons won’t hurt you. Most won’t even come near you. You scare them.”Serenity cackled, “Ha! Me, scare a demon?”“You can control demons, Serenity. What you write on your skin, you may think is for humans. A way of getting by, in the world. But once you turn twenty-one, the
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Serenity didn’t know how long the command would last. How long it would take for Noah to snap out of his stupor and come for her. It had been almost comical to see him freeze up as she had grabbed her bag and jacket and run out the front door.It hadn’t been so funny, when only a few blocks later, she had collapsed behind a dumpster and gritted her way through the pain and nausea. Now, back on her feet, the fatigue was sinking in and she didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to run.Digging into her bag, she pulled out the wad of cash and counted it. Almost three hundred dollars. It wouldn’t see her stay in a room for long, but it might get her a bus ticket to somewhere she could disappear.She shoved the money back into her bag and kept walking toward the station. Her feet ached and burned with cold, and she scolded herself for not nicking off with the pair of boots by the front door of the apartment Noah had her in.All
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“I thought I told you not to stay up too late?”Serenity’s head lifted; eyes gritty as she looked at Noah. Dressed in jeans and a white shirt, at any other time, she’d swoon at how good-looking her guardian was. But right now, she was too wired with what she’d found out.“Do you know once a Skin Writer reaches her full potential, she can write without the aid of anything?” she shoved the book to the side and stood, watching as the demon potted around the kitchenette. He lifted the coffee pot and squinted at it, turning back to her. “Yeah, sorry. I drank it.”He went to the small cupboard and opened it, before closing it again and turned back to her, narrowing his eyes.“All of it.”Noah groaned, shoving his hand through tangles of blond hair, and turned back to the machine, shoving the pot back into its cradle. “Just a word of advice. Leave coffee for us.”
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The cab ride back to the apartment had been silent. Noah hadn’t uttered a single word to her. There was a lot of information she had to process, on top of what she had already learned and it didn’t seem like the right time to try and strike up a conversation with someone who wasn’t in the mood to talk about it either.But now, sitting back in the apartment, surrounded by books which couldn't shed any light on it either, she couldn’t help it. “I thought you were supposed to know everything about me?”Noah looked up from his phone and blinked, narrowing his eyes at her. “That’s not how it worked. We were told to look out for you. We did, but from a distance. If you needed us, like in the alley with Iraziel, we’d be there. Everything we knew about you, outside that, was purely from watching you.”“Yeah, because that’s a comfort.” She spat, crossing her arms over her chest and she stared a
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Serenity paced, Noah tapped away on his phone and Patrick watched her. “So, let me get this straight, I’m not only a Skin Writer, for the Horde… but a Skin Writer for the Legion? How the hell does that work?”“We don’t know. They are predominantly of the Horde. There’s only ever been one recorded case of a Skin Writer being of the Legion.” Patrick mused.“Hayyel.” Noah muttered, not looking up from his phone and Serenity glared at him. What was so important that he had to be on the device constantly? “God, she was a bitch. I was so damned glad when the Horde found her and ended her miserable life and those two fucking cowards who took her to the Legion.”Serenity pushed the thought of the Horde killing their own and thought to what this meant. Of how it would change things… if it changed things, like Patrick had said.“But I’ve heard of Nephilim,” Serenity sa
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“But- It’s not-” Noah’s voice sported the same healthy disbelief his handsome features carried, and he looked at the man beside him. “Patrick, it’s not possible.”Patrick chuckled and stepped forward. Serenity tensed and he smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Skin Writer, I’m not going to hurt you. You won’t have to use that toothpick in your fist.”Her hand closed around it tighter, and he chuckled, before starting to circle her.Serenity turned her head, watching him—wary.“The Horde has done well to find her this young. She’ll be a good asset to the ranks, if she can be whipped into shape and not remain so raw.” Patrick continued to circle, and Serenity looked at Noah, jaw clenching. He had warned the man could be abrasive. “But this changes things. So much power, shouldn’t be in someone so young and inexperienced.”
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The rest of the day had passed uneventfully. Other than a courier bringing some boxes, and lunch turning up, Serenity had been reading and Noah had answered her questions, when he thought she needed to know the information.Now they were heading out of town, to a safe space where Serenity could train.“When you first meet Patrick, he may be a little…. abrasive.” They climbed out of the cab and the vehicle drove off. Noah walked toward the line of factories and Serenity followed.“How abrasive?”“Uh…” Noah twisted his hand side to side, grimacing as he did. “Depends on the day.”“Great.”“Just remember, you’re technically the one in charge. You hold the power. He’s just trying to teach you how to utilize it.”“Right.”Noah pushed open a heavy door, stepped inside and Serenity hesitated. It was dark and smelt weird. He popped his head back out the door and stared at her, raising an eyebrow. “Really? You’re scared of the dark?”“No… it’s just I don’t like what hides in it.”“Oh, believe
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Having been sufficiently caffeinated, and fed from a little diner just down the street from the apartment, Noah led them through the city. The demon was constantly on edge, putting himself between her and anyone who came too close. While the gesture would have been cute, if he were her boyfriend; it wasn’t, when someone accidentally bumped into her.“Hey! Watch it, or I’ll slice—”“Noah!” Serenity threw herself in front of the demon, pushing him back toward the road and away from the stranger. “Calm down, jeez!”Noah eyeballed the man, who scurried off in the other direction and she pulled the demon after her. “You can’t just threaten people.”“Yes, I can.” He huffed, letting her drag him along, the bags hanging in his large hands.“No, you can’t. Want to keep inconspicuous? Stop creating so much attention.” She let go of his arm and started to wal
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“I thought I told you not to stay up too late?”Serenity’s head lifted; eyes gritty as she looked at Noah. Dressed in jeans and a white shirt, at any other time, she’d swoon at how good-looking her guardian was. But right now, she was too wired with what she’d found out.“Do you know once a Skin Writer reaches her full potential, she can write without the aid of anything?” she shoved the book to the side and stood, watching as the demon potted around the kitchenette. He lifted the coffee pot and squinted at it, turning back to her. “Yeah, sorry. I drank it.”He went to the small cupboard and opened it, before closing it again and turned back to her, narrowing his eyes.“All of it.”Noah groaned, shoving his hand through tangles of blond hair, and turned back to the machine, shoving the pot back into its cradle. “Just a word of advice. Leave coffee for us.”
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Serenity didn’t know how long the command would last. How long it would take for Noah to snap out of his stupor and come for her. It had been almost comical to see him freeze up as she had grabbed her bag and jacket and run out the front door.It hadn’t been so funny, when only a few blocks later, she had collapsed behind a dumpster and gritted her way through the pain and nausea. Now, back on her feet, the fatigue was sinking in and she didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to run.Digging into her bag, she pulled out the wad of cash and counted it. Almost three hundred dollars. It wouldn’t see her stay in a room for long, but it might get her a bus ticket to somewhere she could disappear.She shoved the money back into her bag and kept walking toward the station. Her feet ached and burned with cold, and she scolded herself for not nicking off with the pair of boots by the front door of the apartment Noah had her in.All
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“Great.” She sank back against the sofa and watched the demon eat. While she wanted more answers, they weren’t quite the right ones. “How many Skin Writers are there?”His chopsticks hovered in mid-air, and he slowly looked at her. “Not enough… and you’re the only one not controlled.”“Hence why I’m feral?”He shook his head, pointing his chopsticks at her. “No, I called you that, because you fight like an rabid animal. You need to learn combat. How to fight against an angel and win.”“And what about against a demon?”“Demons won’t hurt you. Most won’t even come near you. You scare them.”Serenity cackled, “Ha! Me, scare a demon?”“You can control demons, Serenity. What you write on your skin, you may think is for humans. A way of getting by, in the world. But once you turn twenty-one, the
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Noah had taken the cuffs off her, placed her in a room, made sure there was nothing she could use to write on her skin, then he had left her alone in the dark.Sitting on the side of the bed, while Noah moved around freely in the room outside, Serenity stared at the floor and tried to comprehend what was happening to her.Demons. Angels. Armies of Heaven. Skin Writers.She’d been too shocked to see the huge bat-like wings which unfurled from Noah’s skin, to ask too many more questions. What would she ask anyway? If she was drugged? Noah had already been adamant, she wasn’t. There was nothing to do now, only unpack the information Noah had divulged and hope for more answers.Lifting her arm, she stared at the spot she’d written on her skin. The words had long since left her flesh and the fatigue had ebbed. Her fingers traced along her arm softly. She’d never thought much of her gift. It was just something she could do
